HYDERABAD: “In a world where people are blissfully forgetting the beauty of Telugu as a language, I am a warrier who is fighting this war with Telugu as my weapon,” says Vivek Reddy Kanthala, an 18-year-old poet from Hyderabad, while introducing Kalam Kaney Kalalau, a poetry anthology of 42 poets that he wrote in May.
A native of Karimnagar, Vivek is currently pursuing BTech from CMR Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, and is excited about his debut book titled Nisheethi. “I’ve been writing poetry since Class VIII, but my dream to publish a book came true after waiting for nearly six years. SriSri and Kaloji have influenced and inspired me a lot,” he says dreamily.
Vivek says that he is keen to convey that there are many teenagers like him who read and write in Telugu and love Telugu literature. “All hope is not lost. We love the language and will ensure its charm never fades,” he says while adding that the Covid-19 lockdowns helped him sit at a stretch to complete the book which took five months of work and a budget of Rs 6000.
Nisheethi reveals the elegance of the moon and how those darkest nights provided solace to an 18-year-old boy like him. “I have elucidated some of the societal crises. Every poem has some high relevancy to the darkest deepest nights. I want to continue with writing poetry and stories in my future too,” he says.
Vivek realises that social media is the best place to reach out youngsters and posts his works on writings_of_me09 with profound posts. The young author’s Telugu paperbook and e-book are available on online book stores for Rs 189.